I know summer supposedly started yesterday, but for us, it’s been about a month of hot weather. If you need me, I’ll be sweating off my makeup in the 10 minutes it takes to get out the door and go to our local air-conditioned favorite places. Anyone else?

More sun and heat can wreak havoc on your skin. It’s so important to take care of it (and you) in the extreme weather. And of course, to make sure you’re keeping it clean and non-toxic for your and your family’s health.

In honor of summer’s official start, here are some clean summer beauty products that you may not even know exist. These are my faves, and they will help keep your skin under control without attacking your body and balance.

Schmidt’s Deodorant

Okay, so you know you need deodorant. (Unless you’re some kind of magical being that doesn’t sweat.) But it’s hard to find a non-toxic, non-antiperspirant deodorant that actually does the trick. (Plus help keep you dry – a girl can hope, right?)

Schmidt’s does both for me. It doesn’t keep me perfectly dry, but it actually does do a great job, especially compared to others I’ve tried. The Charcoal + Magnesium has toxin-pulling power (more on that later) to keep you fresh, while the Rose + Vanilla scent is just amazing. (They gifted me some products months ago, just so you know, but with no obligation to review. I genuinely love them and shopped them before they gifted me.)

Charcoal

Noticing an oil leak on your face lately? When you’re exposed to the hot sun more, your skin produces more oil as a protective coat. Charcoal draws toxins, oil, and impurities out of skin for a clearer face, less breakouts, and more balance.

Facial Oil

Wait – if your face is more oily in the summer, why would you need more oil? Fair question. Your skin will compensate (and overcompensate) for what you don’t have. So if you use products that strip skin of oil and moisture, it will create more. It’s best to try to keep the balance, to feed your skin what it needs so that it doesn’t have to do so much work.

Plus good facial oils have vitamins and antioxidants to do your skin even more good. And there are ones specifically suited for your needs. I love Brightening, but you might opt for Plumping (for firmer skin) or Balance (for calming skin). Apply directly, or add a couple drops to your moisturizer.

Wipes

All moms know that wipes are multi-purpose and essential for life. I used to take a pack of facial wipes with me every summer to camp because a) ain’t nobody got time to wash your face at night. (But you need to.) And b) they were such a lifesaver for cooling down in the summer heat.

Go refreshing and multipurpose with facial wipes – these are made for your face. Borrow some baby wipes from your littles to serve the same purpose (but make sure they’re non-toxic for you both). Or get a reusable cloth – not so much on the refreshing your skin, but it definitely makes getting makeup off easier!

A Sunscreen Stick

First, sunscreen, obviously. And second, if you’re like me, you skip the sunscreen stick, thinking you can just smooth some sunscreen on your face and be good to go. And then you’re walking around wondering if there’s a slather of white on your face that you missed. That’s not even considering kids and trying to keep their squirmy selves still while you try to rub in all the sunscreen on their face.

When there’s the ease and convenience of a sunscreen stick available, go with the sunscreen stick. (That one is non-greasy and protects from UVA, UVB and even blue light.) Also our go-to for sunscreen is Babyganics.

Sunscreen. You know you need it. You know your kids need it. But otherwise, it’s kind of hard to know where to begin. There are so many brands of sunscreen out there, so many different kinds. I recently wrote a post for MomsBeyond on sunscreens (you can read the full article here), but here’s a bit of it to get you started:

What to Look For in a Sunscreen

SPF 30 or 50 – both will give you about the same amount of protection. Higher SPFs don’t really protect all that much more. And they might even make you feel more comfortable not reapplying – which we don’t want to do.

Cream – a more thorough coverage than spray (plus see below)

Mineral sunscreen (with zinc oxide or titanium dioxide) – it acts as a more protective barrier, and is less likely to cause irritation than chemical sunscreens

Here’s something you might not realize about your sunscreen. When they contain chemicals like oxybenzone and octinoxate, those are ingredients that not only negatively affect your health, but the environment too. They have recently been banned in sunscreens in Hawaii due to causing coral bleaching.

Beautycounter’s new Countersun sunscreen is a mineral sunscreen, and does not contain the above ingredients. Nor does it contain retinol or retinal palmitate, which can speed up skin tumors. (Watch out for these in your skin cream and serums, too.)

When I go shopping for beauty products, one of the first things I do is open the lid and smell. The scent of the product really makes a difference in whether or not I choose to buy. Anyone else with me?

But scent can actually be a red flag in products. In fact, if you haven’t started getting suspicious about how your beauty products get the smell that they do, you might want to start.

Almost every beauty, personal care, or home product has the term “fragrance” or “parfum” in the label. Obviously scented ones are haircare, soap, lotion, and detergent. Not so obvious? Mascara, powder, sunscreen, and dryer sheets. Check the personal care products in your bathroom if you don’t believe me. Go ahead; I’ll wait.

What’s so bad about fragrance as an ingredient?

It’s actually pretty scary. Because it’s not just one ingredient – it’s usually made up of many ingredients. And legally, beauty and personal care companies don’t have to tell you what they are.

Under the Fair Packaging and Labelling Act of 1966, companies have to tell you what’s in their product. Often even harmful or questionable ingredients can be found right on the label. But according to the FDA, “this law is not allowed to be used to force a company to tell ‘trade secrets’.” Meaning fragrances, so that big name companies won’t get others copying their scent.

Which means what exactly?

Scents often trigger allergic reactions, either via skin contact or airborne. My husband has serious allergies to fragrances and can have an asthmatic reaction to strong fragrances. I hardly have any allergies, but I can have a similar reaction to strongly-scented products.

But since companies have no obligation to share the ingredients in their fragrance, you won’t know what’s causing your rash or breathing problems. (P.S. The FDA also says that it “does not have the same legal authority to require allergen labeling for cosmetics as for food.” If you think you’re protected by the government, wondering, why on earth would they let that stay on the shelves? – think again.)

Or maybe a company is using a questionable or dangerous ingredient, like a carcinogen. Since they have the protection of including it in the fragrance label, you won’t know everything you’re putting on your skin or in your hair.

So, then, fragrance-free products? Or unscented?

Fragrance-free (they can still contain chemicals to mask icky scents from other chemicals)

Unscented (can still contain fragrance or parfum)

Hypoallergenic

For Kids or For Babies (nope – not even products marketed to children are necessarily safe. Consider that Johnson & Johnson recently revealed that their “tear-free” shampoos formerly contained formaldehyde, to numb rather than take away the chemicals causing that burning feeling in the eyes.)

Organic

Natural

That concept is horrifying to me. Companies we trust for years to correctly label their products and only sell ones that are safe for the public might actually be utilizing loopholes to make products with harmful ingredients seem safe.

What do we do now?

First, try to avoid products that include, “fragrance” or “parfum” in the ingredients list. That is, unless those words are followed by another ingredients list in parenthesis. Or look for products that list essential oils or other forms of fragrance rather than the word “fragrance” itself.

Some companies will say, “naturally derived fragrance,” or something to that effect. That’s a toss up. Sometimes I grab those, but often I prefer companies that are transparent with their ingredients. If you’re not hiding anything, why not just list them out?

Finally, I hate to say it, but this is hard to do. Under our current (lack of) government regulation in this area, there are a lot of loopholes, and fragrance is just one of them. It’s difficult to find products that don’t contain fragrance as an ingredient. But the more we demand clean products and change in this industry, the more the government will need to listen. A new legislation is in the works to make change happen. Also major companies like Sephora are working for more transparency in this industry.

What about you? Which products do you need to ditch? I’m still working on finding a shampoo and conditioner without fragrance that I love.

Pinkwashing. You might hear it and think, what is that? A new way to color your hair? A tinted body scrub?

Well, it does have to do with beauty, but not in a good way.

First, let’s back track. Have you ever heard of “greenwashing”? It’s a term for when companies use words like “natural” or have names like, “Super Eco Green Formula”. With those words, it would appear that they are offering something healthy, safe, or clean. But hiding in the label might also be parabens, phthalates, and other toxins they don’t necessarily shout from the rooftops.

What?! How is it okay for them to advertise like that? It happens more often than you think. And it’s because there are very few government-regulated standards in the beauty industry for what those words should mean. (Or for the word “hypoallergenic,” which also really makes you think.)

Pinkwashing is a similar concept. It’s when beauty companies in particular stand up for breast cancer awareness, and donate proceeds to that cause. But at the same time, their products contain ingredients that are linked to cancer (things like parabens and formaldehyde). If that sounds icky, it’s because it is.

At the end of the week, I’m participating in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. I’ve volunteered and worked as a chair on the board for it in previous years, and this year I’m actually doing the race. (Walking it. I’m not athletic.)

I support Komen because breast cancer has occurred twice in our family. It used to be 1 in 20 women who developed breast cancer in their lives; now it’s 1 in 8. It’s hard to not be affected by it. Also, 85% of women who develop breast cancer have no family history of it – so we know that it’s not necessarily genetics that are making the biggest impact in causing breast cancer.

And I support it because of all the good they do – sharing information with the community about breast cancer, funding local exams and treatment, and contributing toward research for a cure.

Because of that, I feel like it’s a great opportunity to pull together two amazing causes and do a fundraiser event. This week on Facebook, I’ll be sharing more information about the beauty and personal care product industry, sharing products that are actually clean from Beautycounter, and throwing in some giveaways and fun stuff. And then 20% of every purchase this week through Friday will be donated to Komen.

So join the event here; and then ask questions, learn something new, and win some fun BC goodies! You don’t have to purchase anything to win. Obviously I’d love to raise funds for this cause, but I would be so glad just to have the chance to share some (mind-blowing) facts on our personal care and beauty industry with you.

If you just want to help support, feel free to shop here. I appreciate any way you want to participate! It means a lot to me. I’m hoping we can live in a world that’s breast cancer free soon – and one in which we don’t have to scrutinize labels for carcinogens, either.